897 posts categorized "ATP"

April 25, 2011

P Mac takes the opportunity to set the record straight on DYoung. Which...I still think is weird. I mean, other than using this as an opportunity to send a message to all the USTA youngsters, what's the point? Why throw this kid (ok, he's not a kid, he's 21 years old) under the bus and air out his dirty laundry? You won't withdraw USTA support so the only stick you have is public shaming?

Sure, I guess he kind of asked for it when he went stupid on Friday, but still. Why not be the adults here? Organizing a conference call because Donald Young, someone no one outside of the tennis world knows exists, said "Fuck you"?

That said, there defintely came a point today while my Twitter stream was lighting up with presser quotes when a lightbulb flicked on in my head: Why do I care? I have already spent more time thinking about Donald Young and the USTA in the last four days than I have in the last four years.

So last week this pterodactyl was walking across the Atlantic to go visit his best friend, a chickpea named Bob. Bob was crazy annoyed that Pterry was late (I mean, it only takes, what, 38 minutes to walk across the Atlantic?) so he called up his book club buddy, Larry the Lorax, to meet him at the Joe's Diner to go lingerie shopping. Larry was very excited and rushed over to the diner. In his haste, he drove his Hummer through a McDonald's, smushed a pill bug, took a shortcut over the Andes, made a quick pitstop in Hades, and was lucky enough to find a parking spot right in front of Joe's. As he stepped out of the car, Larry didn't see the puddle of radioactive waste oozing from the nuclear power plant that was built inside the diner's bathroom. Larry stepped into the waste, grew elephant tusks, and exploded into four pints of grape Jello.

If, IF I understand it correctly, the USTA had one RG wildcard left. DYoung wanted it. So he asked for it. The USTA was like "uh...we have a tournament scheduled with players coming in to, you know, earn that last wildcard. So no." And then DYoung told them to fuck themselves, made some comment about their shit, and somehow tried to play the victim.

Of course, as is the thing with Twitter these days, he popped on again to say "Sorry I used the F word, but the sentiment remains", which...isn't an apology at all, and then, like the big boy that he is, he deleted his Twitter page. And we all know that people who say stupid things on Twitter thinking there won't be consequences, who subsequently deal with said consequences by deleting their Twitter pages, are all really classy pieces of work. We all know this.

And then, to add insult to idiocy, Ryan Harrison, who also didn't get a RG wildcard, comes out and says he wants to go through qualies and earn his main draw spot. I mean, OC ain't the poster boy for model behavior, but I couldn't help but laugh when I read that one. Tip of the cap to you, Harry. At a minimum that was a shrewd move.

Grow up, Donald. This is why you can't have nice things. Beating a slumping Andy Murray doesn't make you special. I mean, look at how many people are on that list! Being a grown-up means recognizing that the world ain't fair and you aren't always going to get what you think you deserve. Work your ass off and win matches, dude. That's how the big boys (and girls) do it.

UPDATED: RUH ROH. PMac is giving an interivew right now blasting DY.

Poor move, USTA. DY did a perfectly fine job turning the world against him with a single tweet. You guys getting together and organizing a blasting-by-conference-call response was totally unnecessary. DYoung has no power. The USTA has all the power. Let him dig his own grave. Responding just makes you look bad. Enjoy the backlash.

April 14, 2011

Doug Robson landed an interview with Wayne Odesnik. It's a must read piece. Because Wayne Odesnik is spittin' some mad comedy.

Between the "I didn't know possession of a banned substance was a violation" to "doctors told me I had to take HGH to cure my bum shoulder" to "I'm dumb so that's an excuse" to "We're not going to talk about how he got the HGH" to "I wasn't going to take it until doctors said it was ok" to "I think it'll help my career in the long run" to "I was depressed for two months" to...oh, Jesus, the whole goddamn thing. I haven't laughed this hard in months. What a tool.

Kudos to Doug Robson. I would not have been able to keep a straight face during that interview. Which is why he's a pro, no snark intended.

April 12, 2011

Of all people, I would have thought Fed would show up to Monte Carlo with a collar. Have some self-respect, man.

Also, Monte Carlo pretty.

The major results of the day: Feli over Janko in a third-set tiebreak, Lubey over Jo (I KNOW), and Milos over Ernie. Look at Legs McGillicuddy slide and not fall down and shit. It's like he's a real tennis player or something!

The entire tennis-playing population of Spain is on court tomorrow, as well as one pasty Scotsman. Let's all tune in as Andy further embarasses himself and, by proxy, me. Should be fun.

March 09, 2011

Here's the men's draw for Indian Wells. Andy falls in Rafa's half and Nole's in Fed's. If Nole makes the final he'll rise to #2. I would not mind if he notched his third straight win over Roger along the way.

Some notes:

I'm excited to get a better look at Berankis. Here's hoping he wins his 1R match and gets FeVer in the second. And cruelty, thy name is Courtney. Rooting for a Tomic/Troicki 2Rer.

Could we get Raonic vs. Fed in the 4R? Tasty.

We've got an All-American 1/8th, as A-Rod could meet Blah in the second round and then Isner in the third.

Delpo vs. Sod maybe?

Generally, if the draws hold up, the quarters should be awesome: Rafa/Daveed, Moose/Sod, Nole/ARod, Fed/Berd. Not sure that's going to happen though.

All in all, I'm looking forward to it. I think the draw turned out fairly balanced.

December 07, 2010

The ATP has picked their best five matches of the year. As much as I would love to agree with them, they're so fucking wrong. Or they're right, which makes my heart break even more.

For my money, here is the Official Forty Deuce List of ATP Matches That Made Me Stain My Couch:

Nole d. Fed, 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5, USO SF: Like I said, I would totally love to slot Rafa and Muzz here (heh), but THIS WAS A GRAND SLAM SEMIFINAL. Everyone was keen on seeing Fed through to face Rafa and no one, NO ONE, even gave Nole a chance in this match. CBS tweeted that Fed had won before the match was even over! Sure, the level of play was up and down, wheras Rafa/Muzz was high quality from start to finish. But I will never forget that high inside-out forehand that Nole crushed to save match point. A career definining swing, that was.

Sod d. Fed, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4, RG QF: This was the match that made me eat my words about Sod. He was ridonk. And I don't think Fed played that badly, either. This wasn't one of those Federror displays. Sod was just in the red the whole time. The loss snapped Fed's Slam semi streak of like, 8,000 straight, too. So it was kind of a big deal.

Baggy d. Fed, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(4), IW 3R: Fed was up 4-1 in the third and this was the first match since 2006 that he would lose after holding match points. Honestly, I don't even remember if the whole match was all that great. But I was at a Mexican restaurant watching the third set surrounded by some obnoxious Fed fans who stood in disbelief as Fed let his lead slip away and Marcos played some ridiculous tennis to bag the win. What I do remember is oohing and ahhing as they battled that last set and Marcos reminding me why he was "Marcos Baghdatis". Oh, I also remember Gwen Stefani looking supes bored.

So basically what we've learned is that I really enjoy watching Fed lose.

December 01, 2010

Ah, awards season. Ever since "Crash" beat out "Brokeback Mountain" in 2006, I have been totally over awards. I mean, I was pretty much over them before that when the idiotic "American Beauty", aka "Plastic Bags Are Beautiful. No Really!" beat out "The Insider" in 1999, but "Crash" sealed it. I've never really cared for award cereomonies since. The nominations are always wrong and the voters are uninformed, easily swayed by factors that are unrelated to the performance, and always biased.

Oh, and they're almost always wrong. Did I mention that?

But anyway. Here are the ATP and WTA awards for 2010:

Player of the Year: Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters

Doubles Team of the Year: Mike and Bob Bryan, Flavia Pennetta and Gisela Dulko

So there you go. With the WTA being much more volantile from a results standpoint, there's a lot to argue about if you care to, but in the end I think they generally got it right. Sure, Serena only played six tournaments, but she did won two Slams, one more than Kim. There's an argument for Caro, too, if one were so inclined, especially considering the fact that Flavs/Gisela (who I love) went Slamless for the year, while Vania and Shved and the Sisters Williams, won two Slams each. So...consistency is important? Slams? Just winning the YEC? WHO KNOWS!

I initially scoffed at Justine winning Comeback POY. But she did make a Slam final after only three weeks. That's kinda impressive. Sure, she only played for seven months, but the only other real contender would be Ana, and she didn't post the same positive results as Justine (Slam final, Premier title) and the ones she did post only came in a three month period. So fine, Justine, you can have this one.

November 29, 2010

I still have to do a double take when I see Ana ahead of Masha. It seemed as Masha was actually part of the conversation at every Slam, while Ana had an eight month pity party. Solid years from Nails and Shahar (though really, how did that happen?) and nice to see Lil' Mash and Pavs finish the year with the highest year-end rankings of their careers. Hell, that can be said of a lot of the ladies: Caro, Bepa, Sam, Fran, Nails and Shahar, to name a few.

As for the guys, it's still weird to see Mischa in the top 10 and I'm shocked that Marin's first six weeks basically carried him to a top 15 ranking. But what's really surprising is the Tournaments Played stat.

Muzz played the fewest number of tournaments in the top 25, only 19, which is two fewer than the three big boys ahead of him. Sod played 24 tourneys and Tomas played 26(!), and I don't think this includes Davis Cup ties.

Marcos played 29 tournaments? That just makes his participation in New Haven either Herculean or Dumb and Dumber, depending on your take. Speaking of Dumb and Dumber, Sam Q really needs to take a look at his schedule next year. 27 tournaments? No wonder the guy was gassed through the second half of the year.

I'm still blown away that Andy only played 19 tournaments. That explains my state of constant longing.

November 22, 2010

Anna K., exo-ing it up in Bratislava. Of note, one of her fellow exo-ers has announced his retirement. Dominic Hrbaty, Fedal pwner (he'll retire with winning records against each), horrible t-shirt wearer, and 1/2 of the 2009 Hopman Cup ruiners, is retiring.

The London WTFs have, at least so far, been a rousing success, a packed house for every session and a some nice celebrity spotting, as well. Who knew Betty Draper was such a tennis fan? I know that expressionless look anywhere.

November 15, 2010

While all you white people are off vacationing and whatnot, Asia don't sleep. That's right, it's Joy Luck Club meets Outsourced meets Denis Istomin as the nations of the Far East battle it out at the 16th Annual Asian Games in Guangzou. Sania, Nails, Kimiko, Tammy, Somdev and a host of other recognizables are all in action.

That's all I have to report at the moment. I just really wanted to make that Istomin joke.

C Note Fact #3856: I will find any excuse to make a Les Mis reference.

It's odd to think that this is Sod's first Master's title. But I can't think of a more appropriate place for Sod to pick one up than Paris, the very city wherin he's wreaked havoc for the past two years. He was a killjoy for Rafa fans two years ago, a killjoy for Fed fans this year, and, as just because he is THE SOD, he just had to be a killjoy for French fans, beating Mikey Llodes in the semis and Gael in the finals.

BECAUSE THAT'S THE KIND OF PERSON HE IS.

And it really was too bad. Mikey Llodes was playing some inspired tennis all week on the fast Bercy courts, only to blow an easy forehand pass on match point to give the satanic one new life (does Satan actually "live"? Crap, another joke fail).

And then Gael. Oh, Gael. He notched what could be a career-turnaroundy three set, three tiebreak, save 5 match points win over Fed in the semis, only to be competely tanked for the final in front of his home crowd. But that's a hell of a way to end a season for the Monfilsy one. He put on a tremendous show throughout the week and served notice to all of us that, well, shit, we're going to have to keep paying attention to his facepalmishness because he is, as I think we all believed, capable of greatness.

November 12, 2010

He won, though. I know that for a fact. Roger, Llodes, and Sods also won. Tomorrow's semifinals will be Roger vs. Gael, Sods vs. Llodes. Pretty sure Momo will be in attendance. But aside from all that I can offer you no substantive commentary on how any of these matches went.

What I *can* offer you is this awesome video of a rapey dolphin. Cheers.

November 10, 2010

By my possibly incorrect count, 12 of the 16 seeds are still in the tournament, with Misha, Nico, Lubes, and Halpert out. And for as much I was anticipating today's lineups, the blockbuster matchups ended up being relative duds. Reeshie made you wonder why his nickname was ever "Baby Fed". Pico gave Novak a tough test but couldn't do much once Nole started grooving. Nalby and Moose had some tremendous shotmaking but Tubbs once again showed why he's a total headcase and Andy once again caused a nation to frazzle when he had to call an MTO in the third for a bum wrist. Oh, and Sod bageled Gilles. Oddly, the most entertaining match of the day was Daveed vs. FogHat.

Blech all around. I do wonder how much of it has to do with the players' inability to adjust to the quickness of the Bercy courts. Cuz that shit be fast, yo.

November 01, 2010

Christophe Rochus, one half of the Flying Rochus Brothers, is retiring. But before he does has something he has to say. Or at least he thinks he does. Because really, if you read what he said you quickly realize he is saying absolutely nothing.

If you're going to make doping allegations then make them. Show us some facts. Canseco the shit out of people. Otherwise, stop your passive-aggressive, vague, unsubstantiated speculating and just ride off into the sunset. These statements don't help you, they don't help the game, they don't do anything.

And let's not even get into the idea that someone can lose a set 6-1, run to the bathroom, inject or ingest somthing, and then, because of that substance, immediately come out and blitz the competition. That's not how that shit works, Chrissy.

The big boys, sans Rafa, are back in action this week in Valencia and Basel. If that wasn't enough to get you interested then may I add that the boys are still scrapping for those last three spots for London.

Moose, Sod, Fer, and Daveed lead the field in Valencia and there are some awesome matches right off the bat. Moose vs. Feli with the winner playing Pico, Gilles vs. Staks, GGL vs. Daveed, and Sod vs. Montanes. And in purely "Whee for C Note!" news, Andy and Jamie are playing doubles. Their first round opponents? Fer and Feli. That's a lot of sexy-ugly on one court. You have to think Judy will tune in for this one. Which...actually...that's kinda creepy now that I think about it.

Over at the Roger Federer Classic, Nole will try and defend his title with Roger, Tomas, and A-Rod in the field. And how's this for juicy: Nole vs. Ernie in the 1st round. Other 1st rounders of note: A-Rod vs. SamQ and Isner vs. Llodra.

Gael takes his third title, beating Lubey, to give Montpellier a French champ in its inaugural year.

Over in St. Pete's, Mikhail Kukushkin threw a wrench in Misha's attempts to qualify for London by taking his first title of his career. And by that picture you can tell that this is basically the first trophy he has ever held in his hands.

And Jurgen defends his title in Vienna to keep him in the running for London.

October 27, 2010

Yes, there is tennis outside of Doha this week. And yes, it involves cute boys. And yes, I will try to run it down for you:

Montpellier:

This is my ATP tournament of the week, with a bunch of Frenchies, a tall white dude, and a balding Russian all in action. Isner is serving up a storm. He served 27 aces today in his three set win over Mannarinno and is one ace shy of 1,000 on the year. Kolya, Gilles, Nalby, and Jo are all still in the mix. In fact, Gilles and Nalby play tomorrow. Whee! Meh.

St. Petersberg:

Misha's the top seed and he's still in, along with Janko. Viktor wasn't able to follow up his win in Moscow. He's out, along with #2 seed Staks.

Vienna:

Juergen is defending but really, I can't pay attention now that my new boy toy GGL lost. Oh, and Marin is actually still in the tournament, which...shocker.

In other sausage headlines, Jim Courier, the Clay Ginger himself, has been appointed the new US Davis Cup captain. I love Jim so I'm happy with this pick. He's smart, witty, knows his tennis, and he's a great face for US Tennis.

On the heels of that announcement, A-Rod announced he was in for Davis Cup next year. It's always best when we have the best players representing in Davis Cup so that was nice to hear.

Sod is the fifth dude to qualify for the ATPLDNWTFYECs. There are three spots left and Tomas, Daveed, A-Rod, FeVer, and Misha are fighting for them.

October 24, 2010

Especially Viktor, who has played so well this year but particularly the last few months.

A much deserved maiden title, Viktor.

He beat some quality players, including Jo and Baggy, to get it.

On the ladies' side, Vika took out MaKiri in straight sets, 3 and 4, to hoist her second trophy of the year. She immediately hopped on a plane to get her ass to Doha, but not before spilling some haterade in the Moscow airport.

And last but not least, Roberta Vinci picked up the title in Luxembourg, outlasting an exhausted Julia Goerges 63 64 for her third career title. Her reward? A piece of shit that was molded into a trophy.

October 20, 2010

Misha, the #2 Russian (but really, the #1 Russian based on quality of play this year), was forced to withdraw from Moscow with a viral infection.

And he was really happy about it.

You know who else was pretty happy? The Moscow tournament director. He not only lost Misha, his #2 seed, but top seeded Kolya lost to Cuevas. Oh, and with Vika clinching her spot to Doha with her win over Petko, I think we can officially file this tourney away in the "Irrelevancy" file.

October 14, 2010

Hell of a match, Austrian Smurf. He played aggressively and I've never seen Hand Lotion hit the ball so cleanly. I know people are saying Rafa was tired and whatever, but I give full credit to Melzer. He was really good today, and really, a seated golf clap to him in recognition for his great year. Also, he's apparently dating a swimmer. I guess he just really likes girls and water.

But I guess Rafa losing created what can only be described as an EMP, but instead of a pulse disrupting all electric functionality it disrupted brain functionality:

Look, everybody makes typos and gets the occasional obscure-ish fact wrong. But when you're Tennis.com and you base an entire Ticker story on the "ZOMG! RAFA LOST FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER" angle, people are probably going to notice your fact-check fail. They've pulled the story down but that doesn't mean I've stopped giggling.

October 11, 2010

The top 20 are all in Shanghai, which makes for some intriguing stuff. Rafa and Nole are coming off tournament wins in Tokyo and Beijing, Muzz is coming off...whatever you want to call that loss to Lubey in Beijing, and Fed returns for the first time since his loss to Novak.

Play started yesterday and Jo took out Feli and Fernando lost to Thiemo.

Well after much insanity and, well, let's face it, genuine concern over how this event would come off, the Commonwealth Games wrapped up with a little bit of something for everyone. Somdev gave the host nation something to cheer about as he picked up the gold in singles, and Anastasia kept the Aussie's happy with a gold in singles and doubles (with Sally Peers) and silver in mixed doubles.

Sania took the silver (nice to see her back), and Sally Peers bookended things with the bronze. Oi, Oi, and whatnot.

In men's dubs, Peter Lukzak and Paul Hanely beat Rosco and Ken Skupski for the gold, with homeboys Leander and Mahesh taking the bronze for India.

And in the surprising result of the week, Scotland's Jocelyn Rae and Colin Fleming teamed up to take the gold in mixed in only their fourth match together. Hanley and Anastasia took silver and the hopefully-no-longer-concussed Sarah Borwell and Ken Skupski took the bronze.

Props to all the athletes. It couldn't have been the most stress-free week but from all the quotes and the tweets it sounds like they had the time of their lives. High fives all around.

October 02, 2010

Misha must feel like he's got a new lease on life after surving that tragic bird attack. He's continuing his fantastic year by reaching the finals of Kuala Lumpur and will face Golubev, who's has already taken out Sod and Daveed to book his spot.

September 20, 2010

The besties are back in action in Seoul. Here's the draw, which is headlined by Nads. Vania and Shveddy are also in the doubles draw. Tashkent is also a thing and, not that Lexi doesn't already know this, Chakky's there.

As for the boys, Marin heads up the field in Metz, which is almost entirely comprised of Team Step Up 3D. And the tour dirtballers try to pick up some cash in Bucharest.

September 11, 2010

Q. How did you feel after that ceremony right there? What are
your reactions to that? How special does it make this occasion to you?

MIKE BRYAN:
To have the ambassador of Pakistani and India here, it's a special
occasion. It shows that it's bigger than just a tennis match. And these
are cool. These are 5,000 years old. Who knows? Might make this into a
couple of shirts. (Laughter.)

September 10, 2010

Q. You know that most people, most tennis fans, will want to see
Federer and Nadal in the final. Are you going to be a bad person and try
and ruin that?

MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: Yeah, I'm ready to be bad person. I love to be bad person in this case. (Laughter.)

Q. What are your better shots? How would you describe your game?

MIKHAIL
YOUZHNY: No easy now say I have to serve like Isner or play forehand
like Federer, something. I play like Youzhny. (Laughter.) But, you know,
actually I have to be enjoying court, first of all. And after, it will
be possible.

September 09, 2010

I fell asleep before the fourth set of the Misha/Stan match. Apparently I just really needed a nap. Imagine my surprise when I woke up three hours later to see that Rafa and Fernando were playing for a chance to play Misha in the semis. Like, whoa, dude!

I was totally shocked. I thought Stan had this in the bag. He was serving well and playing really smart in the super-windy conditions. But it sounds like the toll of his last two tough matches (4 setter over Moose, 5 setter over SamQ) finally set in. Sam got both his legs taped and was just a step too slow by the end.

September 07, 2010

If you missed it, check out this set of photos from Vanity Fair with our favorite "under the radar" ATP and WTAers. I think they did a great job, Sveta's Ed Hardy shirt notwithstanding. And boy, Sam, talk about a corgi-in-the-headlights look.

September 01, 2010

It was a toasty one today in NYC. I know this because Aunt Pimmy told me so. Also because I finally ditched the jeans and t-shirt look and went with shorts and a tanktop. A wise move, I think. But between the heat, the crowds, and the size of the grounds, I've come to realize that you have to really want it to win it here at the USO, and I don't mean the players.

Typically when I go to a tournament I like to just wander the grounds and pop in to see whatever match tickles my fancy, or I'll stick around the practice courts to watch random players. Not so here in NYC. Nope, there better be a damn good reason for me to haul my ass out of the somewhat tolerable shade and stand/sit in the sun for the better part of an hour. Even today, I could barely get it up to stick around to watch Sveta, MaKiri, FeVer, or Elena for anything more than five minutes. To the extent I have pictures of any players or matches it is a reflection of my love for them. I thought I was going to go blind when Nole, Sam, and Dani were practicing, what with the Iguacu Falls-like deluge of sweat that was running into my eyes. At one point I looked down and realized sweat was just running down my legs. Which could have been weird if anyone who knows me, knows FD, and knows my love of all things Corgi had seen me.

IT WAS SWEAT! I PROMISE!

There is no wandering here at the USO. If you wander, you must do so with intent. And a lot of water. And sunscreen. And...patience.

Mikey Llodes and son.

Stop making this awkward, Sam. Just. Ignore. Me.

Dani and Elena. Underachieving. As per yoosh.

Mama Vera shagging balls.

Vika and Sergei Bubka Jr., who, according to Boyfriend Jon, is her man friend. No word on how long his pole is.

Team Venus taking the far practice court.

Happy Vera. I know. It's weird.

Oh, hai, Eva. You kept me thoroughly entertained all evening and for that, I thank you.

Really, Nadia? Really? Did someone eat a bowl full of Skittles, pound a huge Icee, and then puke on your dress? Oh, they did? Ok, well then I feel a little bad now.

August 25, 2010

One thing you notice here in New Haven is how big a deal James Blake is to the tournament. They've banked themselves on him in years past but now that he's sliding out of relevancy it can't be a coincidence that the tournament may not exist next year (Pilot Pen is withdrawing its sponsorship after this year). After cruising to a 35 minute win two days ago, he went out in just over an hour to Dolgo this afternoon. They have a designated J-Block section at the top of the stadium with a "J-Block" banner. They took the banner down by the time the night session started.

I'm not sure Blah knows what he wants to do after all this. Last week he said he would take a break after the US Open to think about things. Today he said he hasn't ruled out playing Challengers to get his ranking up. So who knows.

But I suppose the corollary to that question, rather cruelly, is "Who cares?"

In other dude news, Marcos came back from a set down to beat Chela, Evgeny won, Lucky Loser Steps scored a tough three set win over Hanescu, and Viktor scored a nice win over Dolgo, who had to play his second match of the day. I'm interested to see where Dolgo falls in the USO draw tomorrow. I think he could play the role of a spoiler. The dude's got game and is riding a confidence wave right now.

August 24, 2010

I had to run some errands in the morning so I missed out on Gonzo getting ousted by Steps in straight sets. Super bummed about that. But I did catch a bit of Tommy vs. Taylor out on Grandstand, which was interrupted by rain a few times. Taylor is a BIG boy. He did well to hold his serve for most of the match, giving Tommy fits with his one-hander down the line. I missed the end (I had to go settle in for some Hammer Time), but Tommy eventually pulled it out.

Good job, Tommy. Glad you didn't get distracted by Taylor's moobs. I mean, I know Taylor's a big boned guy, but he makes Nalby look like the Daniela Hantuchova of the ATP. And I think it's only fair to point this out considering I call Dave "fat" all the time. Taylor definitely looked like he had put on a few pounds since I saw him last at Indian Wells.